For years, I had dreamed of confronting them, of screaming, demanding answers. But in that moment, silence was heavier than any words I could have thrown. Their power over me died the second the judge closed that folder. They weren’t my jailers anymore. They were spectators to my freedom. And me, I wasn’t the abandoned 18-year-old anymore.
I wasn’t the disposable child. I was the heir, the architect of their ruin, the living reminder of everything they lost when they chose greed over blood. As I stepped into the sunlight, I remembered my grandfather’s last words to me. When the wolves come for you, don’t fight them head on. Build higher ground and let them starve. He’d built the ground.
I simply stood on it. And as their empire of control crumbled, I didn’t feel pity. I felt justice. Because sometimes revenge isn’t loud.
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